Need authentic documentation of India’s cultural traditions: Professor

Mysuru: Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health (CSMCH), School of Social Sciences (SSS) faculty Sunita Reddy said that there is a need for authentic documentation of India's diverse cultural traditions.Speaking at the inaugural session of the three-day workshop on ‘Ethnography and Documentation of Culture', which commenced on Sunday at the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), bringing together scholars, researchers and cultural practitioners from across India, she encouraged participants to actively engage in fieldwork-based learning.She highlighted the importance of ethnography as an immersive, field-based research method that captures lived realities beyond theoretical constructs.This workshop is jointly organised by the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS), Anthropos India Foundation (AIF) and CIIL, with the objective of strengthening ethnographic research and documentation practices.Chamarajanagar University vice-chancellor MR Gangadhar underscored the urgency of preserving both tangible and intangible cultural heritage in a rapidly globalising world. He remarked that culture forms the essence of human identity and emphasised that ethnography is not merely a research tool but a means of understanding communities through empathy and engagement. He cautioned that modernisation and digitalisation pose challenges to traditional knowledge systems, making systematic documentation a crucial responsibility. He also highlighted the role of technology, including audiovisual tools and digital archives, while stressing that technological interventions must complement human insight.Devaraju A, commissioner, department of archaeology and museums, Mysuru, emphasised the importance of scientific and authentic documentation. He said India has often relied on external narratives due to gaps in indigenous documentation practices. Amitabh Pande, director of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS), Bhopal, outlined its objectives and stressed the importance of practical application in research. He underscored the need for continuous learning, unlearning and relearning in ethnographic practice, noting that the programme adopts an interactive, participant-driven approach to foster critical thinking and collaborative learning.Sukanya Guha Niyogi of IGRMS was present.